Friday, March 10, 2023

Zacian, the Sword-Wielding "Menace"

Every now and then, certain Pokémon species take the spotlight for certain reasons, not the least of which are for their capabilities. That might happen in a good way, or it might also happen in a notorious way. The latest Pokémon that has come into the spotlight in such a way is one of the Legendary Pokémon from Galar, Zacian. The Pokémon isn't too new but isn't too old either, which makes it surprising. What's more, the Pokémon has taken on a certain role of notoriety, particularly in more recent games. For that, it seems to be a "menace" of sorts.

The background for this is its presence in past VGC formats, when they still used the Sword and Shield games. During that time, in some of the formats where it was allowed for usage, the Pokémon species tended to "take over" the format; in other words, every team seemed to require its presence. As such, in this way, the Pokémon became a bit of a "menace" as Trainers had to figure out how to counter it and/or include the "menace" outright in their teams. The way that the Pokémon is, it seemed "broken", making it an ideal target for everyone to use... and then to counter.

More recently, the Pokémon has made waves in Unite, becoming not only the last boss in another edition of its Boss Rush map, but also as a truly playable Legendary Pokémon, a novel approach. Unfortunately, here it seems also as "broken" and "menacing" as its main series counterpart with an excess of power; as a result, a recent update had to adjust the Pokémon ("nerf" it) to make it less "broken" and "menacing", especially as players start to obtain the Unite License for it outright. Eventually, the challenge remains the same: how it can be included in a team while excluding its struggle.

Somewhere in the midst of the two experiences above, there is its role in Pokémon Go as a Pokémon that can be played in its Master League, since its CP in typical cases positions it for that purpose. Here too it is a veritable fighter and may become a first pick in parties for the Master League; it has a few good Fast and Charged moves of different types, and its Fairy type makes it a bit difficult to counter as with most Fairy-type Pokémon in general. It may not seem apparently "broken" or a "menace", but for those playing in Master League, it represents a potential threat nonetheless.

After its first appearance in the main series games and the subsequent appearances in the other games above, a conclusion can be made: Zacian is intended to be strong, and it is very much that in actual fact, making it a "menace" wherever it comes into play. It becomes a bit notorious in that regard, but in the end, it just comes down to its capabilities manifesting themselves in the game systems in question. And that becomes its thrust into the spotlight with a certain renown attached to it.

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